North Flowing Streams

[Mitch f]

How quickly can you name all significant size north flowing Ozark Streams and rivers?

 

ps. Give us a head start,  Al Agnew ?

[MOPanfisher]

Niangua, Sac, Pomme de Terre.

[lee G.]

Gasconade

[awhuber]

Courtois Huzzah

[DownStream]

Bourbeuse

[Devan S.]

kings

[Al Agnew]

Are you talking about streams that flow predominantly to the north from source to mouth?  Streams whose source is to the south of their mouth but may flow more to the east or west in general?  Or streams the end up in the Missouri or upper Mississippi rivers which start out in the Ozarks?  

Also, you have to define what constitutes the Ozarks...The Missouri and Mississippi form a convenient boundary on the north and east, the flat land of the Bootheel of southeast Missouri is a clear boundary, but to the west, the land and rivers rather gradually change from the Ozark Plateau to the Osage Plains.

Basically, if you follow Hwy. 37 in the southwest corner of the state through Cassville to Monett, Hwy. 60 from Monett to Springfield, I-44 from Springfield to Marshfield, Hwy. 38 from Marshfield to Hartville and then Hwy. 5 to Mansfield, then Hwy. 60 to a little past Cabool, then a little east of Hwy. 63 up to Licking, then across Hwy. 32 through Salem to Park Hills, you're following the major north-south divide of the Missouri Ozarks.  Any drainage north of that divide runs eventually to the Missouri or Mississippi just south of St. Louis, so those larger streams basically flow northwards.

In the rest of the Ozarks there are a few streams that flow to the north.  The most notable one is the Kings River.  The forks of the upper White also flow more or less northward--the White starts out flowing north until it gets close to Missouri, then describes a huge half circle to end up flowing southeasterly.

I've talked to people who adamantly assert that streams CAN'T flow north (because north is "up" on maps)!  Even my wife insists that when we drive from our place in Livingston MT to Yellowstone Park, we're going "down" to the park, because it's to the south...even though the park is 2000-3000 feet higher in elevation than Livingston.

[Bill Butts]

That is a great explanation, Al. 

Thinking of your second home area in Montana, the Yellowstone River begins its 600+ mile journey from Yellowstone Lake, inside Yellowstone Park (actually originates above the lake with two primary tributaries), flowing north into MT, then east and north again to its confluence with the MO RIver just over the ND border.

The MO then continues southeast across western ND and southward across SD, before becoming the SD/NE border as it flows eastward, then again turning south becoming the NE/IA border for a ways, and then the KS/MO border, and finally across MO from KC to St. Louis where it joins the Mississippi. Over 2,000 miles from its headwaters, the Missouri is the longest river in North America.

Sorry for the diversion, back to the topic at hand.......People who live in my area (Springfield) are fascinated when they realize that Greene and Webster counties are relatively high, and contain the headwaters of the following:  Sac, Little Sac (both feed Stockton Lake), Pomme De Terre (feeds PDT Lake), Niangua (feeds Lake of the Ozarks), Osage Fork of the Gasconade and Gasconade (join the Missouri River), Beaver Creek (just a mile south of Webster county line, feeds Bull Shoals Lake), Finley Creek joins the James River (feeds Table Rock Lake).  All, except the James (Finley) and Beaver, are northward flowing river systems.

[Unimog]

 

I've talked to people who adamantly assert that streams CAN'T flow north (because north is "up" on maps)!  Even my wife insists that when we drive from our place in Livingston MT to Yellowstone Park, we're going "down" to the park, because it's to the south...even though the park is 2000-3000 feet higher in elevation than Livingston.

I've got a friend who's generally pretty intelligent that can't fathom that the pomme and sac flow north into Truman.  It's more common than I imagined!

Im going to throw the Osage in there since it is lake of the ozarks.  

[ness]

Yeah, streams flow downhill. ?